MetroCast lays off 16 installation techs, 9 locally

ROCHESTER — MetroCast laid off 16 employees Thursday morning from its two New Hampshire locations.

Nine installation technicians working in Rochester, and seven working in Belmont, were laid off Thursday morning, according to MetroCast spokesman Andrew Walton.

“Like any business, we must from time to time evaluate, analyze our workforce, and make organizational decisions, even when they’re difficult, that we believe are appropriate and necessary, not only for our business, but to best serve our customers,” said Walton in a phone interview. “Our market position is strong and we are encouraged by our business outlook, but we have to make decisions that we believe are necessary to best serve our customers and to place the company in the best possible position to succeed.”

In an email Thursday evening, Walton wrote, “These decisions — even when they are advantageous and necessary — are most difficult for everyone involved, but most especially for those who were released from their positions and who learned of the decision this morning.”

The layoffs were effective Thursday.

According to Walton, Metrocast is now relying more on contracted installation technicians, rather than in-house.

“We have simply looked at it, and concluded that it’s an effective way to accomplish what needs to be done,” said Walton.

For more than 10 years, MetroCast has already been working East Coast Cable & Communications for contracted labor, and Walton said, “We continue to have in-house and contract labor who will ensure the customers continue to be served well.”

He noted that over the past year, MetroCast has added in-house staffing within its technical group, but not when it came to installation technicians, who install services such as the Internet and cable at customer’s homes.

Walton said Metrocast does not have plans for a further workforce reduction.

Between the Belmont and Rochester locations, Metrocast has more than 220 employees.

Walton would not comment on any severance package given to the employees who were laid off Thursday, and would not comment on how the company chose which employees to lay off.